Motorway in heavy Traffic...Which Lane?

[BigJim]

Which lane would you say it's advisable to be in on a motorway in heavy slow moving traffic?

I personally tend to stay in lane 3 if I'm going to be on the motorway for some distance as I then don't have to keep breaking for cars that force their way on at junctions.

I don't know if this is right/wrong, but seems to work for me!

[OneDragons]

It all depends.

Often lane 3 does move faster, sometimes it doesnt. One thing that annoys me a little about lane 3 is the 'speed up slow down' that happens. Its as if by accelerating at the car in front they can somehow escape the jam.

[crr003]

It all depends.

I make use of lane 1 and HC242. Often the more progressive route.

[Gareth]

Either the left-most lane or the right-most lane, depending on how fast I have been travelling relative to other traffic up to that point.

The right-most lane has the benefit that other vehicles can only intrude from the left.

The left-most lane has a similar benefit plus the added advantage of some escape space to the left.

[ScoobyChris]

In a big jam, the middle lane appears to be the fastest moving, maybe because lane 1 joiners can't get into it and most accidents seem to happen in lane 3 around here. You're also in a better position should you wish to take the next junction and a detour and only have to move across one lane. The downside is that traffic will be coming at you from all directions.

I think ultimately, the lane you're in is always the slowest moving so I generally don't bother switching lanes

Chris

[MGF]

It all depends.

Often lane 3 does move faster, sometimes it doesnt. One thing that annoys me a little about lane 3 is the 'speed up slow down' that happens. Its as if by accelerating at the car in front they can somehow escape the jam.

I agree, lane 3 can be unnecessarily stressful, drivers trying to make progress faster than the road can handle with the volume of traffic.

Lane 2 is often much more civilised and often you only 'lose' a few places in the queue so why bother. You can make progress again when the traffic thins out.

Another problem I have in lane 3 is if there is a queue of traffic overtaking a slower vehicle in lane 2 some distance ahead but the rest of lane 2 is empty.

I'm not overtaking so shouldn't really be in lane 3 but if I get in lane 2 I will end up undertaking unless I stay behind and to the right of the last car in lane 3. So what is the point of getting in lane 2.

If I do undertake then rest assured lane 3 drivers will close up lest I try to 'push-in'

[OneDragons]

Agreed, though I see that as an advantage of lane 2. It gives a bit more breathing room to use acceleration sence and if others are clamouring so hard to stay in lane 3 that big gaps open in 2 then I use them. Though if 'undertaking' I always creep past.

[Susie]

Hugh and I would rather mix in with 'the professionals' in Lane 1 in most situations. We tend to make a mental note of a couple of vehicles in the other two lanes (that's to allow for the lane-swappers) and see who makes the better progress. Lane 1 usually wins, (apart from slight delays at on-slips - but that effect soon dissipates as the majority of 'joiners' need to be in their preferred lane as quickly as possible)

As mentioned already, Lane 1 in our opinion is by far the safest - you have the hard shoulder to escape to if necessary and unless you have a really pushy LGV driver up your tailpipe, the progress is far less stressful, with few if any 'start-stop', heart-stopping moments. You'll very rarely find us in Lane 2. More than double the danger, from both sides - and from front and rear!

Fortunately, living in deepest Middle England, we rarely use motorways and prefer to drive on proper roads. Even if takes a tad longer, the rewards justify those extra few minutes.

Susie

[7db]

Of course it's not about the winning or losing...

The fact is that you're in traffic and whichever lane clears first, it's unlikely to make more than 30s difference, whilst having 1) an escape lane and 2) no chance of conflict (from both sides) which you have in the other lanes are significant benefits.

Lorries scare the crap out of me.

[fox_matt]

In heavy traffic use backroads.

Motorways are BORING, roads are so much better, what with their corners and whatnot.

Not to mention the fact that most Northern Ireland motorway is 2 lane, so there's all that traffc jammed into 2 lanes.

That said, theres less people in NI than the rest of the UK.

[SLine]

1. If traffics flowing nicely, lane 3 makes best progress.
2. Slight traffic and lane 3 (or 4 on the M25) gets a line of queueing traffic and the potential for stop start begins, and I move left a lane, which is usually empty.
3. More traffic or lots of brake lights ahead and I'll take lane 1 as the least stressful and most progressive.

I travel M26 J6-J9 each day, and thinking about this, I generally take option 1 up to J7, option 2 to J8, and 3 up to J9, then reverse it on the way home - or am I over analysing

[Jack Russell]

I generally find I'm in lane 1 most, lane 2 less often for overtaking and occasionally in lane 3 if lanes 1 and 2 and full of lorries.

My speed I try to keep at 70 but often drops a bit to keep a safe distance whilst looking for a gap in an offside lane to overtake.

The biggest problem I find with motorways is trying to get out a lane to overtake, especially when I am doing the legal 70 or a bit slower, the offside cars are doing 80-90 and the motorway is busy.

Because of the difference in my speed and cars coming up from behind the gap behind closes very fast and the approaching driver either has to slow or move out a lane. Am I impeding their progress when this happens or are they simply going too fast?

This is on the M4 J8/9 to M4 J4

[SammyTheSnake]

Depending on how heavy the traffic is, I might prefer lane 2.5

Cheers & God bless
Sam "SammyTheSnake" Penny

[jont]

Because of the difference in my speed and cars coming up from behind the gap behind closes very fast and the approaching driver either has to slow or move out a lane. Am I impeding their progress when this happens or are they simply going too fast?

Probably a bit of both - depending on the situation. If lane 3 is free, then I see that as a problem for the driver who's catching me (ie they should be able to change lane and not have to alter speed). If you're moving into lane 3 (or it's already busy), then you are causing them to slow down (impeding their progress), but they're speeding (on the other hand I don't want them following me 1 foot off my bumper).

I do 1 of 2 things in this situation depending on relative speeds - either put my foot down and get round the car and back into lane 2 quickly (and accept that I'm doing 80 for a short period), or simply drop back. My threshold speed is round about an indicated 70 as I usually cruise at an indicated 75-ish. If it's really busy then it's probably less stressful to accept the lower speed (or higher) for a while rather than continually dodging in and out of traffic.

[Dandu71]

During heavy traffic on the motorway I much prefer lane 1 simply because it`s more safer. During periods of congestion lanes 2 and 3 build up where it`s a contstant wave effect, people accelerate and then slam on the brakes. By staying in lane 1 you have a more constant flow of trafic as you are mainly with the lorries but more importantly have another lane on your left (hard shoulder) to go into should an emergency arise.